This weekend saw FloGrappling’s WNO Championships which didn’t fail to deliver. It included a host of top talent in the nogi scene and for those that don’t know, it was a grand prix style tournament where the winner took home a cheque. Similarly, athletes would also get $1000 for each submission scored. Here’s how it went down
Men’s Heavyweight final (Tim Spriggs beats Kaynan Duarte by heel hook)
Underdog and TLI competitor Tim Spriggs scored a heelhook victory over Kaynan Duarte who was the favorite going into the entire tournament. Spriggs did this from a knee on belly position and transitioned nicely into the heelhook to claim victory. He also did another heelhook from the top against Rida Haisam earlier in the event. Most people thought Duarte would win with ease.
Women’s Heavyweight final (Rafaela Guedes beats Kendall Reusing by guillotine)
ATOS sensation Rafaela Guedes defeated Kendall Reusing with a mounted guillotine. This came from an attempted bodylock pass by Reusing which Guedes countered with a guillotine and eventually put Reusing into mount from the position. Eventually Reusing tapped with around 10 minutes left on the clock.
Men’s Middleweight final (Tye Ruotolo beats Mica Galvao by split decision)
In the closest match of the finals, this one went the 30 minute distance and was a real grind. Both grapplers got points deducted for stalling but ultimately Tye Ruotolo got the win by a split decision due to being more assertive in the eyes of the judges. Whilst this one may not have been as exciting as the others, it was still a technical masterclass and was cagey throughout.
Men’s Lightweight final (Kade Ruotolo beats Gabriel Sousa by Darce choke)
It was another Darce choke for the Ruotolo’s who have quickly made this choke their own and probably have the best Darce in the world right now. After relentless pressure, Sousa eventually turtled against Kade who jumped on a Darce to claim the win. It was the third gold of the night for the ATOS team and would have been four if not for Kaynan Duarte. Clearly, Andre Galvao is doing something right.
Women’s Strawweight final (Mayssa Bastos beats Grace Gundrum by unanimous decision)
Mayssa Bastos did Unity proud as she beat 10th Planet’s Grace Gundrum by a unanimous decision. Overall, she was quite dominant and took Gundrum’s back and later passed her. This was one of the most competitive divisions of the night but Bastos was the clear winner here without tapping Gundrum.
Other stories of note
Elsewhere in the quest for third place, Haisam Rida got a rear naked choke victory over Orlando Sanchez, Elisabeth Clay got third and so did Jacob Couch. It was an interesting run for Couch who previously heelhooked Roberto Martinez. He was submitted by Jon Blank via reverse triangle but Blank had to pull out with an injury. Couch then defeated William Tackett in the last match by decision to claim bronze.
